9" Ford rear freewheeling?

[oj]

I pulled the axles out of a 9" ford to check for axle seal leakage, when i slid the axles back in and tightened everything up they just freewheel, as if they are not going into the carrier.
It is an open carrier, non posi, and i didn't mix the axles up.  
With the axles in place i can turn one axle and see the other turn.  
I can reach in and turn the driveshaft while holding either axle.  
I can put the manual transmission in gear and spin either axle.
The mileage is unknown on the rear, i assume lots of miles.  I can look into the carrier and it all looks ok.  When i pulled the axles there wasn't anything unusual and i didn't hear anything go 'clunk' like it dropped out of place.
Any ideas on what is wrong?
Thanks, oj

[oj]

I am starting to think that that is normal.
I am not famaliar with open drive rears and i've had this one aprt 3 times now just knowing something ain't right.  It is a tubbed '69 camaro with an open drive.  I have an open drive carrier i removed from another rear and it acts the same way.
Post you thoughts please, oj

[wayne petty]

its normal...

open rear ends act that way...


let me describe the power flow..

the drive shaft spins the yoke and pinion gear..  this changes the direction 90 degrees and spins the ring gear...

the ring gear is mounted to the differential unit..

there is a shaft sticking thru the case to hold the 2 or 4 spider gears... these transfer motion to the side gears with the axle sticking through..


all this is to allow the rear tires to turn at their own speed ..

going straight .. if the rear tires are equally worn.. there is very little difference in the tire speed.. so the side and pinion gears don't move much...

going around a corner..    the outside tire has to go farther than the inside tire.. so the side and spider gears allow for a differential speed between the wheels without effecting the drive shaft speed..


if one wheel slips when torque is applied by the motor.. that wheel may spin at double speed.. as the one with traction is stopped..

posi rear ends have side gears that have splines on the inside to connect to the axles.. but also some splines on the outside to attach to the posi clutches..   there are clutches and steels and big springs pushing the clutch packs tight against the housing.. this reduces the amount of free spin.. you have to exceed the break away torque to get it to slip..

there are a bunch of kinds of posi units.. cone type.. gear type.. air clutch type... locking type. with mechanical square cut notches to lock the two side gears together.. ...

one thing..  if you have a clutch type posi.. anybody.. and it makes noise turning corners..   put in the proper lube and additive..

find a big paved area... where you can drive in slow circles as tight as you can without busting a power steering hose.. go around 5 or 6 times in each direction..  this low speed turning allows lube between the clutches and smoothes off the clutch facings.. so they don't chatter.. it really works...

there are also break away torque specs for posi units..  where you can measure on the car with the axle up in the air.. how much torque it takes to slip the posi clutch... if its not enough for the amount of tire one has.. it will still act like a open differential...

[oj]

its normal...

open rear ends act that way...


let me describe the power flow..

the drive shaft spins the yoke and pinion gear..  this changes the direction 90 degrees and spins the ring gear...

the ring gear is mounted to the differential unit..

there is a shaft sticking thru the case to hold the 2 or 4 spider gears... these transfer motion to the side gears with the axle sticking through..


all this is to allow the rear tires to turn at their own speed ..

going straight .. if the rear tires are equally worn.. there is very little difference in the tire speed.. so the side and pinion gears don't move much...

going around a corner..    the outside tire has to go farther than the inside tire.. so the side and spider gears allow for a differential speed between the wheels without effecting the drive shaft speed..


if one wheel slips when torque is applied by the motor.. that wheel may spin at double speed.. as the one with traction is stopped..

posi rear ends have side gears that have splines on the inside to connect to the axles.. but also some splines on the outside to attach to the posi clutches..   there are clutches and steels and big springs pushing the clutch packs tight against the housing.. this reduces the amount of free spin.. you have to exceed the break away torque to get it to slip..

there are a bunch of kinds of posi units.. cone type.. gear type.. air clutch type... locking type. with mechanical square cut notches to lock the two side gears together.. ...

one thing..  if you have a clutch type posi.. anybody.. and it makes noise turning corners..   put in the proper lube and additive..

find a big paved area... where you can drive in slow circles as tight as you can without busting a power steering hose.. go around 5 or 6 times in each direction..  this low speed turning allows lube between the clutches and smoothes off the clutch facings.. so they don't chatter.. it really works...

there are also break away torque specs for posi units..  where you can measure on the car with the axle up in the air.. how much torque it takes to slip the posi clutch... if its not enough for the amount of tire one has.. it will still act like a open differential...

Wish i'd posted earlier, after the 3rd time of pulling it apart - mind you i had brakes on the one side and was going for the 2nd side - i just knew something was wrong, there was just enough doubt that i had to take it all apart and check stuff.
Thanks Wayne, even after messing with another open carrier i still had a lingering doubt.
Stuff like this is what makes us different, willing to go back thru things and recheck at the slightest doubt.
Thanks again, oj

[wayne petty]

one last thing... you will HAVE TO REMEMBER..

when accelerating with that much rear tires..  or doing a burn out..

if you ever get it crossed up .. step on the CLUTCH or shove it in neutral to disengage the engine from the wheels..

while stepping on the brake as hard as you can...

stepping on the brake without disconnecting the engine will slow the tires down and they will DIG in.. as the engine is still attached.. the torque  from the engine will suddenly accelerate you forward as the tires start to grip...

with the clutch in.. there is no rotational inertia from the engine to accelerate you..    there is very short time to do this.. and it might not be possible in some situations..

but it is really important to think about.. i have been close up to a top fuel car that did a burn out in reverse..  but thats one of the situations that could not have been shifted into neutral or the clutch stepped on quick enough..
yes.. one of my former jobs was a race starter at a drag strip..

[enjenjo]

Yup, that's normal. If you have enough horsepower, you don't need a Posi